Question:
Anybody heard of a MRI in Georgia that a obese person can fit in?

I live in Georgia and have back problems. My back surgeon is hopefully going to wait till I have WlS in Nov. to loose 100 lbs. before back surgery. He wants me to get a MRI and I have been to and called several places but I'm to big. I weigh 450 lbs. Anybody heard of a Open MRI in Georgia that can do this or do they make one big enough? Any thing I can try that will relieve some of the pain in my lower back and right leg?    — Robert S. (posted on August 31, 2002)

August 31, 2002
Hi, I live in SC - but I think some of the larger hospitals in Atlanta (or any large city) should have an open air MRI. Their images are not as good from this type of machine and some still have weight limits as to what the table holds. Call some of the bigger hospitals and check. We live in a small town which has a open MRI -My husband is a MRI tech-I will find out the exact weight when I talk to him. I think the open weight limit is 400 or 450lbs.
   — Pam W.

August 31, 2002
Open MRI Of Atlanta 3193 Howell Mill Rd NW # 110, Atlanta, GA 30327 Phone: (404) 355-2187 I drive by a couple of different locations for this company. I did a Yahoo yellow page search and found a number of Open MRI locations. I had surgery in '93 for a ruptured disc. Got rid of my leg (sciatic) pain, but I still have periods of debilitating back pain. Good luck!
   — Susan M.

September 1, 2002
Robert, I am 434 lbs and had an mri a few months ago in Gainesville, GA near the Northeast Georgia medical center. I don't know if that would be closer than Atlanta, but the girl who did mine said they can do larger people, it just depends on how proportioned they are. It was a tight fit and she made a few adjustments. But she was very sensitive and kind. She says she does everything possible to help. They even do the mri's up until 1:30 in the morning. Let me know if you want me to look into it further for you. [email protected]
   — vickie D.

September 3, 2002
Hey, I went to Augusta Open MRI in July and had one done. They have several open MRI's in Augusta. The one in Savannah , has an inch restriction(i think it's 83). I think I weighed about 400 in July and their limit was 450. Good luck.
   — Kimmie C.

September 6, 2002
Thanks for the answers I found the biggest Open MRI in Georgia. They have 3 different size belts that go around you. The largest goes up to a size 77 inch. I am a size 62 and it would work fine and I weigh 450 lbs. The web site is at http://www.openmriofmacon.com/ I have searched over 30 MRI's and they don't have a weight limit plus I could fit.
   — Robert S.